If you have some leave coming up, you might want to consider spending some time admiring the annual Illuminated Boat Procession in Nakhon Phanom. The festival, held on the Mekong River in front of Nakhon Phanom Provincial Office, marks the end of the Buddhist Lent. Although the festivities started last Wednesday, the event will continue until Tuesday.
This year more than 50 boats, elaborately adorned with lights and assorted offerings, are set afloat and light up the Mekong River at night. However, the boats that used to be made of bamboo or banana trunks by the local community have now been replaced by bigger and more sophisticated crafts thanks to funds from major sponsors.
Other activities include a colourful street procession, cultural performances, traditional game corners, outdoor movies and live music – making for a welcome breath of life into the usually sleepy town of Nakhon Phanom. For more information, call
042-513-490/1.

One of Sakhon Nakhon’s best-known celebrations, the Wax Castle Festival, is expected to draw a great deal of attention from visitors to this Northeast province. The highlight of the festival is a procession of miniature intricately carved beeswax castles and temples. The processions start tonight and will continue until Monday.
Rise with the dawn on Monday, and you can join the locals for the morning merit-making Tak Batr Devo, during which food is offered to monks to mark the end of the Buddhist Lent. Visitors are also invited to admire the traditional “Bai Sri Su Kwan” (banana leaf arrangement), and join in the excitement at the Nong Han long-boat races as contestants compete for the Princess Cup.
As always, various entertainment and Northeastern cultural shows add colour to the event. For details call 042-513-490/1.

Merit-making in Samut Prakan Thailand Travel Guide

Bangkok dwellers don’t have to travel too far to witness the Thai traditional merit-making in celebration of the Ok Phansa festival. Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district on the eastern edge of the metropolis hosts the traditional Rap Bua (Lotus giving), although this particular ceremony takes place two days earlier, over this weekend.
Believed to be an ancient tradition of the Thai-Mon people in Bang Phli, a district that once had an abundance of lotus flowers, the locals continue to this day to offer the lotus flower to monks.
The several canals in Bang Phli also make this a great place for waterborne merit-making, and visitors will love the procession of the Luang Po To (replicas of the Buddha image). People throw lotuses on the boat as part of the merit making.
There is also much to keep you entertained during the festivity, including Mr and Miss “Rap Bua” pageants, a lotus pedestal arrangement contest, ancient folk plays and Mon water sport competitions.
For more information, contact Bang Phli Municipal Office at 02-337-3086, 02-337-3930, 02-337-3491, or Bang Phli District Cultural Centre at 02-337-3715, 02-337-3414.